Lehman’s Country Life

Lehman’s asked that I might helped round up some artists and crafters to do demonstrations in the Buggy Barn at the Kidron store.  I am very happy to say I have a whole group of talented people eager to meet and chat with you as they produce their handicrafts.  We will be posting on the ‘Events’ Calendar on the menu at the top of this blog entry what types of demos will be taking place Sept.- Dec.  Our goal is to combine education and entertainment for the visitors to the store as well as honor the creativity and inspiration that comes from working with your hands.  I have found, even when I am the person doing the demonstration, I am inspired by the people I get to meet and talk to in the Buggy Barn who share with me the things that they make and create!  I’d love to hear what you create so feel free to share your ideas on what you’d like to see! 

I will be kicking the demonstrations off by bringing in some of my farm animal art.  I will also be beginning a new horse mural on Sept. 6th that I will work on thru out the fall/winter season.  This coincides nicely with the Wayne County Fair that will begin on the same day!  You can read a story about my inspiration for the new mural here:

This month we will also have oil painter and Kidron resident Dennis Lipp painting rural landscapes and Amish farms from the rolling hills of our scenic community!   Dennis has some beautiful barn and farm landscapes in exquisite detail that you will not want to miss!  Two Sister’s Wool were a great hit at Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival in July and they will be back sharing the history and techniques of wool rug hooking which dates back to colonial days.  They will bring with them some samples of lovely primitive style rugs that they have made using recycled wool.  These rugs become heirlooms and are as practical and sturdy as they are beautiful!  We are pleased and excited to have them share their knowledge and skills with you. 

I will be writing regularly on this blog with more details of our full season of demonstrations by local artists and crafters from the Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild.  You can look forward to seeing pottery, fiber art,  beeswax Christmas ornaments, vintage fabric handicrafts, whimsical folk art, decorative painting,  wildlife art, gourd painting, woodcarving to name a few!  Subscribe to this blog or the events calendar to be notified of upcoming demonstrations and video clips. 

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Enjoy the beauty of the Kidron area landscape thru the eyes of local artist Dennis Lipp. On July 12th, during Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival, Dennis can be found in the cafe and book area painting a scene from this area. So grab some lunch, coffee or ice cream and have a seat to enjoy seeing the creative process at work! Dennis, along with 13 other local artists will be participating in live demonstrations and offering their artwork for sale. Make a day of it and enjoy! Stop by www.kidronarts.com to read artists profiles and see a preview of artwork and demonstrations.

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On July 12 th you will get a chance to meet the folks from Longhedges Fiber Studio. Angela Seymour-Boss will be across from the customer service desk at the store in Kidron displaying and selling her fiber and fiber art during Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival. Angela, along with her husband Warren, own and operate a retail fiber shop as well as an alpaca and fiber animal farm. In the photo above you can see a sampling of some of her hand dyed and spun angora yarn. She offers knitting and spinning classes as well as a wide assortment of fiber from cleaned raw fiber from a wide variety of animals, to rovings, to yarn to finished products that make beautiful gifts. You can read about Angela and the other artists at www.kidronarts.com To learn more about Longhedges Fiber Studio go to www.longhedges.com

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I posted earlier on this blog about Tim Shue’s art IN the garden. Now I want to talk about art FROM the garden! Lehman’s has a long history of providing support and products for gardeners and now, thanks to Larry and Deby Welty, there will be art from the garden in the form of painted gourds. The Welty’s are busy carving and painting a whole assortment of gourds that can be used for decorative bird house, bird feeders and home decor. You will even have an opportunity to try your hand at painting a gourd under Deby’s helpful instruction. To read more about gourd painting as well as what the other 12 participating artists will be demonstrating and selling at Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival on July 12th go to www.kidronarts.com

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Tim Shue, a resident, artist and musician from the Kidron area, will be at Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival filling two roles. He will be providing musical entertainment and showcasing his unique mosaic garden art. To create the pieces you see above Tim uses carvings as well as pieces of glass or tiles to make this lovely garden art. The mix between the natural materials of the rock and the colors and textures of the glass and tile, along with the nature theme make for an interesting compliment to gardens, patios or walkways. They work beautifully whether in a manicured garden or a naturalized one. Plan on stopping by to see the many creative talents of Tim Shue on July 12th along with a wide variety of other local artist. To read more about the other particpating artists go to www.kidronarts.com

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In 2004, Kristin Lorson was commissioned to design and create a mural that would depict the 50 year history of Lehman’s. Kristin, having a big appreciation of local history, was honored to take on such a unique project. “Gathering all the information in my research took half as long as painting the entire mural!” Kristin said. The total project was a nine month long stint, that Kristin was able to accomplish right in her own family’s dining room. The 4′ x 10′ piece of Luan board she painted was propped up in the busiest room in her home. “Our dining room is like Grande Central Station! There I would be in the middle of everything painting, while my husband, three kids, a dog and a cat, all ran around me. Although it was busy, it was great for me to have a project like that to work on at home. My kids were a lot younger then.”
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As part of Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival on July 12th, Sue Steiner will be at the store doing a painting demonstration and offering artwork for sale. Sue’s farm animal murals can be seen at Lehman’s in the Buggy Barn as well as in the outside eating area of the cafe. You can have your picture taken by Sue’s most recent mural, Rex and Roy, the life sized team of Amish work horses that was painted this winter. She’ll also have on hand more ‘Rex and Roy’ equine art as well as an assortment of Amish, farm and farm animal art. For more information on Sue go to www.suesteiner.com as well as www.kidronarts.com to read about the other local artists who will be participating in the art festival.

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I put the finishing touches on the Lehman’s sign in the mural on Saturday.  As you can see from the photo this gives visitors to the store an opportunity to have some fun by posing at the hitching post.  I’ve already seen several people getting some fun shots with Roy, Rex and the other painted on critters in the Buggy Barn. 

If you’d like to see previous blog posts on the painting of this mural and others click here.  When you follow that link you can scroll down to see the progression from a blank wall in the back wall of the Buggy Barn to the completed mural.  In the blog entries I share some of my notes and sketches used to create this.  This mural began as a freehand sketch with chalk on the wall to now, several weeks later, a life sized painting of a team of Amish Work horses.   

I will be in the Buggy Barn periodically doing painting demonstrations thru out the season.  During Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival July 12, 2008 other local artist will join me in doing on site demonstrations and offering artwork for sale.  Plan on seeing potters, painters, fiber artists, wood carvers, musicians and sculptors to mention a few.  To see artists profiles go to www.kidronarts.com 

Thanks for stopping by! 

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Today I worked on getting the Lehman’s sign painted on the Hitching Post mural.  I had some very nice folks stop in and chat with me today.  I am posting a picture of some of Rex and Roy’s new friends!  I apologize because I did not write down their names and so far the horses aren’t talking!  I asked the folks if i could post this photo here and they said yes. They said they would check in to see it.  So here ya go!  :)  I hope you had a fun visit today.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Next time I’ll get more than just the horse’s names right.  I promise!   

 To see previous blog posts of the mural ‘work in progress’ pics click here.   

Be sure to mark your calendars for Sat. July 12 for Lehman’s Local Artisans Festival.  I will be there along with other local artists doing demonstrations in the store!   

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